Good Press

Harry Nilsson worked at a bank and wrote songs on the side, mostly jingles and pop tunes in the mid-1960s. Under contract with RCA, his first record was a flop, but it yielded hits for The Monkees and Three Dog Night. In the late 1960s Nilsson was everywhere: pal to the Beatles (especially John and Ringo); singer of "Everybody's Talkin'," the theme to the movie Midnight Cowboy (1969); singer of the theme to the TV show The Courtship of Eddie's Father; composer of the soundtrack to the animated movie The Point (with its hit single "Me and My Arrow"); and singer of the number one hit, "Without You." …

The release of Good Time Warrior by Lucifer's Friend saw the departure of legendary rock vocalist John Lawton (who exited for a stint as Uriah Heep vocalist) and the entrance of another English talent Mike Starrs. The album also marked a change of direction for the group. Earlier albums like Mind Exploding and Where the Groupies Killed the Blues demonstrated the German groups flair for progressive and experimental rock,while Good Time Warrior contained a more straight ahead rock sound. Such tracks as "Old Man Roller" and "Sweet Little Lady" demonstrate this the best and pave the way for future band releases such as Sneak Me In and Sumo Grip. The albums last cut "Warriors" is a lengthy and moody piece which harkens to the groups earlier sound while providing a solid platfrom for Starrs' vocals.

The Faces' third album, A Nod Is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse, finally gave the group their long-awaited hit single in "Stay with Me," helping send the album into the Billboard Top Ten, which is certainly a testament to both the song and the album, but it's hard to separate its success from that of Rod Stewart's sudden solo stardom. In the mere months that separated Long Player and A Nod, Rod had a phenomenal hit with "Maggie May" and Every Picture Tells a Story, his third solo album, something that would soon irreparably damage the band, but at the time it was mere good fortune, helping bring them some collateral success that they deserved.

The release of Good Time Warrior by Lucifer's Friend saw the departure of legendary rock vocalist John Lawton (who exited for a stint as Uriah Heep vocalist) and the entrance of another English talent Mike Starrs. The album also marked a change of direction for the group. Earlier albums like Mind Exploding and Where the Groupies Killed the Blues demonstrated the German groups flair for progressive and experimental rock,while Good Time Warrior contained a more straight ahead rock sound. Such tracks as "Old Man Roller" and "Sweet Little Lady" demonstrate this the best and pave the way for future band releases such as Sneak Me In and Sumo Grip. The albums last cut "Warriors" is a lengthy and moody piece which harkens to the groups earlier sound while providing a solid platfrom for Starrs' vocals.

The Faces' third album, A Nod Is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse, finally gave the group their long-awaited hit single in "Stay with Me," helping send the album into the Billboard Top Ten, which is certainly a testament to both the song and the album, but it's hard to separate its success from that of Rod Stewart's sudden solo stardom. In the mere months that separated Long Player and A Nod, Rod had a phenomenal hit with "Maggie May" and Every Picture Tells a Story, his third solo album, something that would soon irreparably damage the band, but at the time it was mere good fortune, helping bring them some collateral success that they deserved.

At the time, Press to Play was occasionally promoted as Macca's response to punk – which we all better hope is not true, since that means he was responding ten years after the fact, signaling just how out of touch he was. But McCartney wasn't that disconnected from reality (he did talk about punk in interviews from the late '70s), so a more accurate view of Press to Play is to see it as McCartney trying to reconnect with his classic strengths, from orchestral pop and whimsy to driving rockers and sweet love songs…